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Episode 1486: MLB Bangs the Gavel
Date January 14, 2020 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s report about the findings of the league’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing activities and the firings of Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch, touching on the appropriateness of the punishments, the new details revealed in the report, where the report fell short, why players weren’t suspended, the futures of the suspended personnel, the culpability of Luhnow, Hinch, Alex Cora, and Carlos Beltrán, when and why the sign stealing (supposedly) stopped, the future of the Astros, whether other teams will be implicated, permanent solutions to sign stealing, and more. Topics * Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal and MLB punishments * Loss of 2020 and 20201 draft picks * Motivation and role of Mike Fiers * Role of A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow * MLB efforts to keep leadership accountable * Alex Cora's role and pending punishments * Carlos Beltran * Lack of punishment for players * Replay room cheating * Impact on the 2017 and 2018 World Series * Jim Crane and Astros' culture * Astros' front office brain drain * Will A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow get hired again? * Projecting the 2020 Astros * Internal candidates for the Astros' front office and managerial positions * How to prevent future sign stealings Intro Queen, "Hammer to Fall" Outro Justin Townes Earle, "Someone Will Pay" Episode outtake sound clip. (Meg accidentally introduces herself as being from The Ringer, and things go downhill from there.) Banter * Ben and Sam had recorded an episode that was pushed back in favor of recording this episode reviewing the Astros news. That other episode aired as the second half of Episode 1487. * Ben has a friend that was confused about the sign-stealing scheme. His friend thought that the Astros were stealing physical signs from other teams. Notes * A.J. Hinch (manager) and Jeff Luhnow (GM) were each suspended from MLB for one year (to the end of the 2020 postseason) and were subsequently fired by the Astros. The Astros received the maximum $5 million fine and lost their first and second round draft picks for 2020 and 2021. Though not related to the cheating scandal, Brandon Taubman was also suspended for one year from MLB for his post-ALCS clubhouse behavior. (He had already been fired by the Astros.) ** Editor's note: Any future material violations of MLB rules by Hinch, Luhnow, or Taubman will result in being placed on the permanently ineligible list. Hinch's and Luhnow's suspensions expire automatically. Taubman must apply for reinstatement. Discipline of lower-level employees involved in sign-stealing is left to the discretion of the Astros. * Alex Cora (bench coach) was heavily implicated, but his punishment awaits the conclusion of the 2018 Red Sox sign stealing investigation. (The Red Sox, who had hired Cora as their manager in 2018, didn't wait for the other shoe to drop and "mutually agreed to part ways" with Cora the next day, as discussed in Episode 1487.) * Astros owner Jim Crane was not punished at all. Meg is disappointed by this; after all, Luhnow was punished despite not know about the banging scheme. Furthermore, the Taubman situation was mishandled by Astros PR, which reports to Crane. However, Meg notes that Crane is "1/30th of Rob Manfred's boss." * The MLB report on the sign-stealing backed up the reporting that Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drelich did breaking the story. The report did not acknowledge that the cheating was directed by the front office. * The report notes that A. J. Hinch twice damaged the monitor to express his disapproval. Meg and Ben wonder whether others knew that it was he who damaged the monitors, whether people realized that it was a form of protest, and whether he used a bat to cause the damage. Meg notes that if her boss damaged a monitor, she wouldn't just shrug it off. * Ben notes that at the time, A.J. Hinch was not yet a widely-acclaimed manager, and he may have felt uncomfortable rocking the boat. * Meg loves the phrase 'banging scheme' that was used in the report. She says it (or variations, such as 'bang scheme') constantly throughout the episode. * Meg and Ben discuss the difficulty MLB has with holding players accountable. It is difficult to know how involved individual players were, and many are on different teams now. The MLBPA would also be expected to push back on any punishments. * Meg's impression is that A.J. Hinch's and Jeff Luhnow's baseball careers are over, "but I've been disappointed before." There will always be the lingering suspicion that any success they bring is due to cheating. She thinks teams care more about cheating than domestic violence. She predicts that Alex Cora will get a lifetime ban. Ben thinks that Hinch is more likely to work again than Luhnow. * In his comments Rob Manfred hints that MLB will explore technology that catchers/pitchers can use to relay signs. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1486: MLB Bangs the Gavel * Facebook discussion thread for this episode * MLB Report on the Astros' Cheating Scandal * A.J. Hinch statement * Jeff Luhnow statement * The Ripple Effects of the Astros Sign-Stealing Investigation by Ben Lindbergh * Why MLB Issued Historic Punishment to Astros for Sign Stealing by Tom Verducci Category:Episodes